Machine for leveling and shaping roads



March 12, 135. 5 5

MACHINE FOR LEVELING AND SHAPING ROADS 7 Filed Nov. 18, 1.931

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MACHINE FOR LEVELING AND SHAPING ROADS Filed Nov. 18, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 gme'nloz,

March 12, 1935; A. F. REIS I MACHINE FOR LEVELING AND SHAPING ROADS Filed Nov. 18, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 VIII)? March 12, 935. A. F. REHS MACHINE FOR LEVELING AND SHAPING ROADS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed N01. 18, 1931 Patented Mar. 12, 1935 UNITED. S TES PATENroFFIc ApplicationNovember 18, 1931, Serial No. 575,876

12 Claims.

This invention relates to a machine for leveling and shaping mixed-in-place or premixed bituminous roads. 1

Mixed-in-place or premixed bituminous roads are laid or spread on a suitable foundation or sub-base and then rolled down. In this class of road, as the bituminous material constitutes the top of the road, it is desirable to evenly level and regularly shape the material to bring about a substantially uniform thickness in the finished road, with a minimum of bituminous; material, so that the cost of construction will be no greater than necessary and wear caused by traffic will be as evenly distributed as may be possible in a 5. read of this character. I

My invention is particularly adapted to level and shape the miXed-implace or premixed bituminous top layer of a road on a foundation or sub-base and it is also adapted to shape the base of a road in the event that the base thereof is constructed of a bituminous mix The invention has, among its various objects,

the provision, in a. machine for leveling .andrshaparound; second, automatically adjustable wheels which travel on the roadway and support the 7 machine when it is used to level and shape the bituminous material, whereby irregularities in the finished road will be reduced to a minimum even though depressions or high spots may exist in the sub-base; third, forwardly converging a) spreading blades which initially act on the bituminous material deposited on the crown or center of the sub-base and initially spread or tary combination of converging spreading blades and heel blades unitarily adjustable upwardly or downwardly which track from the outside of the roadway toward the center thereof the excess material, uniformly spread the material to the same depth and form a uniform grade for the rear ones of the previously mentioned automatically adjustable supporting wheels to travel on as the machine advances; fifth, side blades which serve as side forms to determine the width of the bituminous roadway being laid and insure straight edges for the roadway being laid, these blades being adapted to travel on the sub-base and automatically adjustthemselves vertically through a relatively wide'range regardless of ;the, differences in elevation existing along'the edge of the roadway and that on which the supporting wheels are travelling; sixth, a rear cross-wise arranged blade which may be set to determine the cross-contour of the finished roadway and which is bodily adjustable upand down and has (CI. 9444) j bination of the various improved features and,

constructions hereinbefore outlined, and those constructional features and combinations not previously outlined'but which are hereinafter described and are shown in the drawings. In the accompanying drawings:

7 Figure 1' is aplan View of the complete machine;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof, the blades being raised and the supporting ground wheels lowered to illustrate how the machine may be moved from place to'place orturned around when not used forroad building;

Fig. 3 is a' detail plan view showing the relationship of the converging blade to a heel blade; Fig, 4 is a rear elevation of a heel blade by itself; V v Fig. 5 is a side'elevation .of a side blade by itself, its spring mountings being omitted;

' Fig. '6 is a, detail vertical section through one of theside blades and one-of the spring mountings therefor, certain parts being broken away;

Fig. ,7 is adetail side elevation of one of the elevating. devices for the cross-blade;

; Fig; 8Iis a rear elevation of the machine showing the rear cross-blade;

' .Fig. 9' is a rear elevation of the sectional crossblade by itself, with its adjusting slides attached;

Fig. 10 is a plan View thereof;

Fig. 11 is a detail plan view of one of the adjusting means for the rear cross-blade; and

. Fig, 12 is a detail View showing the swivel 'mou'ntingfor the jack-screws used for the front caster wheel and the converging and heel blades. generally distribute the material; fourth, a uni- The frame is of rectangular shape, having -longitudinalchannel beams or bars 1 and front and rear channel beams or bars 2, the rear one of which surmounts and is bolted to the side beams '1. The longitudinal channel beams or bars l are arranged in pairs, of which the inner bars are designated 1.

- no tendency to weave, thus insuring even treatment of the bituminous material on the roadway. To further strengthen the frame, longitudinally disposed channel beams or bars 4 run from the cross' beam 3 to the rear cross beam 2. Pref- 1erably,crossedbracesfi connect the beams 3 and 4, and braces 6'co'r'1nect the beamsl' to the beams 4. Thebraces 5 ,and 6 maybe of. strap or fiat stock. independent sections which may bedndividually The longitudinal beams 1, 1 are connected tofor using flanged wheels gethel y strap braces '7. Braces '7' co t beams1', 2. I

The frame is provided with'irnprovedground wheels which are normally used to support it as it travels along the sub-base or foundation of the I road to effect the spreading and leveling of, the

bituminous material by the blades which are hereinafter described.

The supporting or ground wheels 8 are arranged in pairs mounted on axles 9 carried by frames 10 which are mounted to rock up and down on a" shaft 11, in each instance, secured to,'or mount} ed in, blocks or bearings 12, respectively carried by the beams 1, 1'. The frames 10, being rockably mounted intermediate their ends and the respective wheels 8 being carried by the frames on opposite sides of the shaft or axis 11, and there being four sets or pairs of wheels, if any wheel encounters a pocket or depression in the sub-base or foundation of the roadway on which' the bituminous top is being laid by the machine, no

inequality will result in the vertical depth of the "bituminous layer becausethe remaining wheel of the given pair will remain on the level"part of the sub-base and thus the leveling action of the blades, which'will be hereinafter described, 'will not be disturbed. By employing the rocking frames 10 and wheels 3, no necessity exists 7 and side forms for such wheels to travel on. I

At the front of the'machine'means, such as clevises 13, may be provided for the attachment 7 of a cable or other device by which the'machine by a jack-screw 17 which is provided witha hand wheel 18.

The jack-screw is engaged with a screw thread f in a boxing l9 and the lower end of the jack-screw I I g I heel blades 30 insures a uniform spreading. of the material to" the same thickness, subject to any is swiveled to the frame 16 in the manner shown in Fig, 12. The jack-screw has a circular groove '18 and the frame 16- carries screw bolts 20 whose rounded tips are received in the groove 18. The frame 16 being slidable up and down in the boxing 19, when the hand wheel 18 is turned, the j caster wheel 14 is thereby elevated or depressed.

tion to permit the wheels 8 to travel on the roadway when the bituminous material is being laid thereon. If, however, the machine is to be moved from place to place without serving'to lay the bituminous material, it is then desirable to described) so that the machine will travel freely or be turned around. The caster wheel 14 provides means whereby the front-of the machine may be swung around but to support the machine in elevated position for the purpose described,

there is also provided a pair ofwheels 21 which are mounted on a cross shaft-or axle 22 carried by boxes 23 which are slidable in vertical guides 24. Jack-screws .25 having connections such as shown in Fig. 12-with the boxes 23, are employed by raising or lowering the wheels 21. a

When the machine is in use for road, leveling "pin 42 which carries cotters or-cross pins 43. The

and shaping, the wheels 14 and 21 are elevated so that they will clear the road materials'being spread. When the machine is being moved from;

place to place or'turned, the hand wheels 26,

carried by the jack-screws 25, and the hand wheel 18, carried by the jack-screw 17, are turned to lower the wheels 14 and 21 into contact with the road for the purpose of supporting the'machine. .The three wheels 14,21, 21* enable the ma-' chine to. be more readily steered and turned than is possible with a four-wheel supporting arrangement. 1

, For making the initial spread of the road building material; the converging blades 27, which are joined at 28'into-V-shape,'are provided. These blades are preferably connected by cross braces 29 so that they willbe maintained in rigid relal0 tionship. r a a 7 Connected to the rear ends or heelsof the spreading blades'27 are heel blades 30 whose purpose is to drag toward the center of the roadway the excess bituminous material and, to provide a l5 uniform gradefor the rear sets of wheels 8 to ride on. The blades 30 are rigidly connectedto blades 27 in the mannershown in Fig.3 and by the brace3l.

'The blades 27 and; 30 being unitary, may 'be 20 raised'or lowered, as a unit, byjack-screws 32, 33

superposed frame '35 attached -to the frontfcr'oss beam} and said screw has a hand wheel 36 by.

which it may be turned. 'The lower end of the wjack-screw 32 has a swiveled connection' such as v 7 shown in Fig. 12 with the apex of the'blades'27, 3 "whereby the front of said blades maybe elevated.

The jack-screws '33 are engaged with screw threaded boxes 37, carried by the double" cross 'beam 3 in advance-of the rear sets of wheels 8.

The lower ends of thejack-screws33 are connected 35 to the rear ends of the blades 27 by swivel joints,

' suchassho'wn in Fig. 12, enabling the" rear ends of the blades 27 and the heelblades -30 to be 'ad- ;justed'upwardly'or' downwardly, as may be de- -sire'd. The'hand wheels 38, carriedby the jack- 40- screws- 33, enable the said screws to be turned. The rigid'connection of the blades 2'7 with the desired up and down adjustment of the apexiof v the blades 27 byjack screw 32, and adjustment independently thereof of the heel blades" 30 by jack screws 33. The aforesaid three-point" adjustable suspension of blades 27 and30, provides for all necessary adjustments without necessi- 'tating raising and lowering the entire spreading 1 frame 27,27, 30,30 in order to adjust-any given part thereof, for-instance, the heel blades30;

' Disposed vertically alongside the rear parts'of 1, 2 and'5,*whose purpose is to ride on the sub-' base of the road and to shape up the edges'of the bituminous material being laid and leveled by the machine. The blades 39 are vertically movandlowered by hand. These blades are-stiffened V by angle steel pieces 40, running lengthwise thereof and they are spring mounted and pressed downwardly by their springs for theforegoing' I One of the mountings for the blades'39 65.

V the side beams 1 are edge-formingblades'39, Figs, 7 elevate the wheels 8 and the blades (hereinafter able in an automatic manner and are notraised" angle piece 44, which isriveted to the beam 1 at" '45, has a hole 46 throughwhich the upper end 1 of the 011142 slides. '43 prevent the pi'n'42 from becoming detached. 'Th'e blade 39 carries angle brackets 47, 48 respectively overlying thewebsof the beam 1. 'Sur-f 7 5 e a The cross-pins or cotters 1,994,437 rounding the pin 42 andint'erposed between the lower angle bracket 48 and a suitable key 49 carried by pin 42, is an expansion coil spring 50, which presses the blade 39 downwardly so that it will ride on the sub-base of the road. This spring also permits the blade 39 to rise as far as necessary to conform to the sub-base of the road as the machine advances. Two of these spring pressure devices being provided for each blade 39, as shown in Fig. 2, the blade will move evenly up and down'and each of the two blades 39 will be independent of the other of said blades.

"at all times with the sub-grade or sub-base regardless of the difference in elevation existing along the edge of the roadway and that on which the wheels 8 travel.

Across the rear of the machine extends a rear blade whose construction and adjustment appears in Figs. 7, 8, 9, 10 andll. This blade, which is composed of independently adjustable sections 53, 54 and 55, all carried by a single angle bar 56; the bar 56 and the blade sections 53, 54:, con stitute a unit which may be bodily raised and lowered as such by means appearing hereinafter. However, each of the blade sections 53, 54, 55 is independently adjustable up and down to set it at different positions, by the provision of slots 57 in the blade sections and bolts 58 extending through the angle bar 56 and through said slots. The lower edges of the blade sections 53, 54, 55 are curved or shaped so that'they will, collective- 1y, define the correct contour of the top of the road and will, therefore, shape and finish the be adjusted inrelation to the said blade sections by virtue of being provided with holes 60 through which the bolts 58 pass. These slides 59am movable up and down in boxes 61, Figs. '7 and 11, se-

cured to the rear cross beam 2 of the frame. The boxes 61 enable the slides 59 to move up and down and prevent them from becoming detached by lateral displacement. To effectuate this purpose,

the slides 59 are of T-shapa'as shown in Fig. 10,

and the boxes 61 have retainers 62 which co-- operate with the heads of the said slides.

The outermost slides 59 are positivelyraised or lowered by jack-screws 63 which have hand wheels 64, Figs. 1, 2, '7, and 8, said screws being threaded through boxes 65 and having their lower ends such as shown at 13, Fig. 12, which are received in sockets in the upper end of the outerrnost slides 59 and having a swiveled connection with said slides by virtue of the tip of the screw 66 being received in the groove 18, said screw passing through a'screw threaded hole 6'7, Fig. 9,

V in the upper ends of the said slides.

It is unnecessary to employ a jack-screw in connection with the central slide 59, as the rear blade can readily be adjusted up andrdown by using jack-screws in connection with the outermost slides 59.

Preferably, there will be provided supplemental angle strips 68 at the rear of the blades and opposite the angle strips 56, as shown in Figs. 1, '7 and 10, tostrengthen the rear blade.

"The spirit levels 69 may be provided near the ends of the rear blade so that it may be leveled.

What I claim is: y 1. In a machine for leveling roads, the combination with a machine frame, of independent pairs of ground wheels-arranged respectively, at

the forward and rearward parts of the'machine frame on both sides thereof which are adapted for supporting said machine frame, each of said pairsof wheels being carried by a carrier rockably connected intermediate its ends to the machine frame and carrying said wheels on opposite sides of its rockable mounting, said ground wheels being adapt'edto travel on the roadway, converging leveling blades adjustably carried by said machine frame, for raising or lowering in relation thereto and to be retained where set, and heel blades carried by and movable with the said adjustable leveling blades, the aforesaid leveling blades and heel blades being arranged in advance of the rearward pairs of ground wheels and constituting a unitary structure capable of up and downadjustment as such, and independent adjusting means for the apex and heels of said converging leveling blades for' effecting desired up and down adjustment and retention of said level- 1 'frame on both sides thereof which are adapted for supporting said machine frame, each of said pairs of wheels being carried by a carrier rockably I connected intermediate its ends to the machine frame and carrying said wheels on opposite sides of its rockable mounting, converging blades carried by the machine frame for leveling the road material being laid,'heel blades carried by the converging blades and disposed angularly in re lation to said converging blades, the aforesaid blades being arranged for raising and lowering as a unit, and means carried by the machine frame for independently raising and lowering and for locking the apex of the converging blades, and

7 independently raising and lowering and locking the respective heel blades.

3. In a machine for leveling roads, the combination with a machine frame, of leveling means carried by said frame, wheels adapted to'support said machine frame on the roadway, and slidable side blades carried by the machine frame and nation with a machine frame, of leveling means carried by said frame, wheels adapted to support said machine frame on the roadway, slidable side blades carried by the machine frame rearwardly of the aforesaid leveling means which are adapted to ride on the sub-base of the road and to form the edges of the material previously leveled by the aforesaid leveling means, and spring-means co-operating with said side blades and adapted to press them downwardly and to cushion their upward movement, said side blades being vertically'adjustable to automatically conform tothe cont-our of the edge of the roadway and in contact with the sub-grade or sub-base thereof regardless of the difference in elevation between the edge of the roadway and the surface on which the supporting wheels are travelling.

, 5. In a machine for. shaping roads, the combination with a machine frame, of a shaping blade supporting member arranged cross-wise of said frame, a shaping blade which comprises a plurality of independently vertically adjustable blade sections collectively adapted to define the contour of the road being shaped, said supporting member for said blade sections being common to all of them and. to which said sections are independently adjustably connected, permitting each of said blade sections to be bodily adjusted up or down in relation'to the supporting member without affecting the setting of any other blade'section, slides carried by the shaping blade supporting member, and means-carried by the machine frame adapted to independently raise and lower the supporting member and blade sections as a unit without disturbing the relationship of the sections or their adaptability for independent adjustment. l V

6. In a machine for leveling roads, the combination with a machine frame, of a plurality of independent pairs of ground wheels on each side of the machine frame for supporting said machine frame, each ofsaid pairs of wheels being carried by acarrier rockably connected intermediate its ends to the machine frame and carrying said wheels on opposite sides of its rockable mounting, a forwardly extending unitary V- shaped stationary leveling blade at the front of the machine, whose apex points forwardly, and

independent means adjustably suspending said frame at its apex and rear ends from said ma chine frame for independent raising or lowering of said-apex and rear parts in relation to said mounting, converging leveling blades adjustably carried by said machine frame and heel blades carried by said converging leveling blades, constituting a unitary leveling structure adapted to be raised or lowered in, relation to the machine frame and to. be retained where set, and independent adjusting means for the apex .andheels of said converging leveling blades for-effecting desired up anddown adjustment and retention of said levelingblades and heel blades to preventthem from shifting from their said position during the operation of the machine and permitting any desired adjustment and setting o f the corners of the leveling blades.

8. In a machine for leveling roads, the combinationwith a machine frame, of a unitary leveling blade structure at the front of the machine comprising forwardly. converging leveling blades and heel blades carried by the rear endsof said converging blades, and independent adjusting screws for the forward apex and rear heels of-said.

leveling structure, saidscrews suspending the leveling structure from the machine frame and providing means for adjusting said leveling structure up or down or tilting it as desired and maintaining it where set. i a

9. In a machine for leveling roads, the combination with a machine frame, leveling means carried thereby, and wheels adapted to support the said machine frame, of side blades carried by the machine frame rearwardly of said leveling means and mounted for up and down sliding movement, said side blades being adapted to ride on the sub-base of the roadandtoform the edges of the material after it has been leveled by the aforesaid leveling means, and means for'oushion-a ing the upward movement of said side blades and also maintaining them on the sub-base or grade.

10. In a machine for leveling roads, the c'ombinationwith a machine frame, leveling means carried thereby, and wheels adapted to'supportf the said machine frame, of side bladescarried by the machine frame rearwardly of said leveling means and mounted for .up and down slidingmovement, said side blades being adapted to ride on the sub-base of the roadland to form the edges of the material after it has been leveled by the aforesaid leveling means, springimeans for'pressing down and holding the side blades on the subbase or grade and for cushioning their upward I movement, and means for limiting 'the up'a'nd down movement oftheside blades 11. In a machine for shaping roads, the corn? a blade extending as a single unit crosswise of the said frame, said blades: at their ,lower' parts collectively defining the contour of the road being shaped, and adjusting means for each blade sec tion permitting each blade section to beindependently adjusted up or down in relation to the a other blade sections without disturbing them.

12. In a machine for shapingroads, the com-v V bination with a machine frame, andfmeans carried thereby for leveling. the material being laid, of a plurality of separate shaping blade sections suspended from-the aforesaid machine frame in end to end relationship rearwardly of the afore said leveling means and crosswise of the machine as continuations of each other, thereby providing a blade extending as a single unit crosswise of the said frame, said blades at their lower parts collectively. defining the. cont-ourof the road being shaped, adjusting means for each blade section permitting each blade section tobe independently adjusted up or downin relationito the other blade sections without disturbing them, and meansfor adjusting allof the sections up or down as a unit 7 adaptability for individual adjustment. I

I i 70 ALBERT F. 'REIS. 

